This paper examines the underlying assumptions and global implications of prestigious literary prizes, including the Nobel Prize in Literature. Specifically, it interrogates whether the prize is awarded solely on the basis of the literary quality of the author and their work. If that is the case, does the predominance of European laureates suggest that European literature is inherently superior in quality? Furthermore, is the global literary space merely a neutral aggregation of national or ethnic literatures, where all regions and traditions hold equal standing? Against this backdrop, this study delves into the significance of the Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to Han Kang, the first Asian female recipient, and Anna Burns, the first Northern Irish winner of the Booker Prize, as critical case studies. To address these questions, the paper draws on The World Republic of Letters by Pascale Casanova, a seminal work that has reshaped the paradigms of world literature and comparative literature studies. Through a comparative analysis of Han Kang and Anna Burns, this essay investigates how international literary awards reflect structural inequalities and aesthetic politics within the global literary field. Both Han and Burns eschew “official history” in favor of narratives centered on individual lives and the psychological aftermath of violence in divided societies. Their works do not focus on violence as spectacle but rather on the internal responses and emotional residue experienced by their characters. In contexts such as Northern Ireland, South Korea, and indeed across the globe, ongoing experiences of systemic violence and death demand literary responses that grapple with human vulnerability, memory, and the meaning of belonging to the human species. This paper argues that the works of Anna Burns and Han Kang exemplify the essential role of literature today. Moving forward, the Nobel Prize in Literature should recognize authors who produce such profoundly humane and politically resonant narratives. |
